From 2009, the company's Artistic Directorate will decide Darlinghurst Theatre Company's artistic direction and seasons of productions.
The Artistic Directorate is made up of eight industry peers who hold their seats for a three-year tenure.
The priority for the Directorate is the delivery of a high quality programme of diverse and innovative theatre, conceived and created by Australian artists.
Staging new Australian work is vital to the Australian theatre industry as is the telling of our own stories.
Darlinghurst Theatre Company also provides rare opportunities for Australian audiences to see new, innovative international plays, many of which would not otherwise be seen in Australia.
How a season is created: Artists propose theatre productions to Darlinghurst Theatre Company via a submission process.
Once Darlinghurst Theatre Company selects a project, the artist’s role is then to focus on the delivery of the creative side of their production and the artistic outcome.
The company consistently provides the most resourced producing platform for independent artists in Australia.
Darlinghurst Theatre Company undertakes producing, production management, publicity, marketing, sales, graphic design, technical support, set construction, rehearsal space, stage management, bump in and out, and all production practical matters.
Building audiences for high quality independent theatre is a priority: This is done by Darlinghurst Theatre Company programming more familar types of productions alongside challenging productions. Audiences enjoy the diversity of theatre experiences on offer and consequently attendances are strong for all the types of productions produced.
When creating a season Darlinghurst Theatre Company priorities are:
- New Australian Plays.
- New international Plays (that are new to Australian or will be its first production in Sydney)
- Occasionally we do classics, or modern classics, if they are being approached in an innovative way, (but new plays are our main priority.)
Who can submit: Professional Australian theatre artists. Directors tend to be the main artists who submit projects. Performers can also submit work but in this case, the productions’ director must be involved and integral in the casting process and in the choice of creatives.
Selection Process: The Artistic Directorate assesses the submissions. The final season will be a mix of more challenging types of plays, along with more familar types of theatre.
When and what? Artists’ submissions are taken once a year. Artists submit their chosen play and a list of confirmed creatives and performers.
Season lengths: Productions are between four to five and a half weeks long.
Next round of submissions: Next Deadline is Oct 24, 2008. The next round will be for productions to play March to December 2009.
You must discuss the suitability of your proposal with Glenn Terry prior to submitting: email him at glenn@darlinghursttheatre.com
Click here to download submission information:
Darlinghust Theatre Company's 2009 Artistic Directorate members are:
Jonathan Gavin
Lee Lewis
Tim McGarry
Christopher Hurrell
Tanya Goldberg
Drew Fairely
Kim Hardwick
Glenn Terry
Artistic and Company mandate
Darlinghurst Theatre Company directly engages with artists and this is its main strength as an arts organisation. Darlinghurst Theatre Company’s most important stakeholders are theatre artists and the audience, and this direct engagement serves both artist and audience in the best way possible.
Most theatre companies in Australia invite artists to work on particular projects conceived by the company’s artistic director. Darlinghurst Theatre Company however, calls for artists to propose their own projects for production. With Darlinghurst Theatre Company artists are therefore presenting work they feel most engaged with, most passionate about and most dedicated to. Each production involves a new creative team and so the seasons of productions present many artistic visions, many definitions of theatre, and many explorations of what theatre can be - from the more familiar to the more challenging.
The theatre going experiences on offer at Darlinghurst Theatre Company are contemporary, relevant, vital and diverse. New Australian plays are some of the company’s best-attended shows. These plays are connecting more directly with audiences as they are in the audiences own vernacular and are Australian stories. Audiences are also strong for new international plays, as Darlinghurst Theatre Company offers rare opportunities to see such plays, many of which would not ordinarily be staged in Australia.
Most importantly audiences are experiencing theatre in which artists are vitally and integrally involved. This is theatre at its most engaging. The potent combination of new contemporary playwriting and inspired artists is the main reason why Darlinghurst Theatre Company patrons keep returning, and the reason why our audiences continue to grow.
In 2009 Darlinghurst Theatre Company will evolve into a full producing facility. It will be unique in Australia in that it will undertake all producing and production work whilst working with independent artists. Versions of producing platforms do exist in Australia, but all are under resourced and stop well short of providing a fully resourced producing platform for artists.
Since the 1970s thousand of professional theatre artists have graduated from Tertiary institutions across Australia. 100s of theatre directors, 100s of lighting designers, 100s of set and costume designers and 1000s of performers. They cannot each have their own theatre, funding and niche audience. What is needed is theatre companies that provide producing platforms with full and complete producing infrastructure. Darlinghurst Theatre Company has diligently been working towards this end since 2000, and aspires to set the standard in Australia for producing high quality theatre with independent artists.
Theatre hire for events
DTC's home Darlinghurst Theatre is also available for functions, launches, parties and meetings. The venue has a large foyer, with licensed bar and large balcony, making it a great venue for functions. This type of hire is at a fixed rate. (Please phone 93313107 or email theatre@darlinghursttheatre.com for more information).
In 2006 Darlinghurst Theatre Company launched a new and very exciting tour manager; Critical Stages creates National tours of outstanding Australian independent theatre.
The aim of Critical Stages is to facilitate greater exposure for some of the best of Australia's independent theatre productions, and assist presenters in accessing outstanding indpendent theatre productions.
For more information, please click on the link below:
Critical Stages
Darlinghurst Theatre Company is supported by Arts NSW.
